Congress passes Civil Rights Act Aug. 29, 1957

On this day in 1957, Congress passed the first Civil Rights Act to become law in 82 years. Among other things, it authorized the attorney general to file lawsuits on behalf of African-Americans who had been denied the right to vote. It also created a federal commission on civil rights.

The legislation was championed by Sen. Lyndon Johnson (D-Texas), the majority leader, and President Dwight Eisenhower. Sen. Richard Russell (D-Ga.) claimed the bill sought to impose the will of the federal government on the states, disregarding the U.S. Constitution. The Senate voted after overcoming a filibuster by Sen. Strom Thurmond (D-S.C.), who set a Senate record of 24 hours and 18 minutes. (Thurmond became a Republican in 1964.)

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While the bill alienated and angered Southern Democrats, they lifted their blockade after it became apparent that the measure would do little, if anything, to end Jim Crow practices in the South. Thus, any person found guilty of obstructing someone’s right to register faced the prospect of a jury trial. In practical terms, that meant a guaranteed trial by an all-white jury – one unlikely to lead to a conviction.

Black leaders found themselves divided over the legislation. Ralph Bunche, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and then a top U.N. diplomat, viewed the bill as a sham and said that he would have preferred no act at all. However, Bayard Rustin of the Congress of Racial Equality believed that the act was important because of its symbolism: Heretofore, the lawmakers had been able to advance the cause of African-Americans since 1875. Rustin was not alone in predicting that it would serve as a base for further action – as indeed it did with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.